Nicolas Roche - how good is he

ROK ON

Hi.

Just a query. For people who follow the sport a lot, how would ye rate Roche.
24th (thus far) looks like a good GC placing. Is it? He has had a couple of days in the sunlight, and looks to have a certain amount of promise. But he is 25, and other riders of his generation (Schleck Jnr. and Martin for example) seem to be at different level.

So how good is Roche. Is he one of the strong 'also rans' or is he a future contender for big races, be they clasics, stage races or stages within the grand tours?

What are his strengths/weaknesses. All in all I have been impressed, but then I know very little about the sport.

Raam

He'd probably be higher in the various competitions if he didn't have to defend the yellow jersey for a week.

brandon_flowers

Pity he had to defend the yellow jersey for a week, cost him 8 minutes on one stage IIRC.
Also Efimkin crashed out on this tour which has given him a bit more scope to attack, I think he would have been launching a few attacks for Efimkin if he was still in the race.
A move to a bigger team like Saxo Bank or Garmin would be a good move for 2-3 years where he would be a brilliant work-horse for the Schlecks or Vande Velde/Wiggins. After that he should be close enough to a team leader at a smaller team.
I dont see him winning Grand Tours but he will definitely win a few one day classics and stages on Grand Tours.

Tackleberry

He also lost 15 mins in the 1st week thanks to some deadly crosswinds / bad luck / inexperience - who knows where he'd be on GC if that hadn't happened.

He finished 13th in the Vuelta last season, so he defo has the talent for consistent tour top 10's and stage wins, I think next season is vital and he needs to change to a team that will focus on him and develop him into either a grand tour rider or the more obvious choice of a classics & stage win rider.

I think he has the talent to do either, but he'd need a seriously good programme to help harness his talent into a grand tour contender, probably to lose weight, increase power, climbing, time-trialing etc

Whatever he does, having never seen Roche and Kelly on live TV in the 80's, it's been absolutely awesome watching him on the front in the past couple of weeks.

Zipp101

His good GC position has been carved out of gained time in breakaways.So I wouldn't class him as a GC rider at all.

I think he would be better suited to the week long tours as he can climb a bit and time- trial a bit.Classics maybe? I would liken him to riders such as LL Sanchez and Sylvain Chavanel (but not quite as good yet). He has progressed very well and could well see him as being in the next generation of Kim Kirchens/Fabian Wegmanns.

Decuc500

It's too early to tell if he can win a Grand Tour. He hasn't got the build to climb like Contador or a Schleck but you don't need to be a pure climber to win a Grand Tour. His father proved that. If cyclists reach their peak between the ages of 28 and 33 he's got a few years yet to develop.

buck65

Decent middle of the pack rider, won't wina grand tour but might win a smaller one or a classic.

niceonetom

Stengths and weaknesses? Well, it seems to me that at the moment he's a bit to much of an all rounder to be a serious CG contender, if that makes sense... A few years ago he (and the rest of us) thought he was a sprinter, but now he seems to be transforming himself into a super-domestique/breakaway type of rider. That's a slow process and he's nowhere near his peak yet. He can do it all, which makes him an ideal company man but if he specializes a bit more he might be a team leader.

I expect to see him win stages in grand tours (from breakaways which he seems to have a knack for getting into) in the next few years. Not sure about the classics though.

He's in the top ten for both the white and green jersey showing that, without it even being a priority, he's been up there every day. Hugely impressive for a first tour. If he was riding his own race who know's where he's be in the GC.

Given the derth of french GC riders I could see a french team being built around him as a GC contender, but whether he can really compete for the yellow is far from clear yet. It's not a deffinite NO though, which is a huge complement really.

finbarrk

His daily column in the Indo is very good.

Liamo08

I think he has been brilliant for his first Tour, 24th on GC after 13th in the Vuelta is nothing to be sniffed at and there's definite room for improvement, does anyone know if he's riding the Vuelta again this year? It would be a good gauge of his progression in the last year, provided he's not too exhausted after the Tour.

Ghost Rider

You think? In the ones I read, he came across as a bit whingey.

finbarrk wrote: »

His daily column in the Indo is very good.

Raam

Ghost Rider wrote: »

You think? In the ones I read, he came across as a bit whingey.

I think he's just telling it like it is and being honest about how difficult it is.

warrfla

His performances on the bike have been excellent for his first tour, but that incident with bennatti gives him some extra bonus points in my book!!!

Running Bing

Raam wrote: »

I think he's just telling it like it is and being honest about how difficult it is.

True, for all the glamour and prestige Id imagine the Tour is three weeks of pure hell for the riders.

Id rather hear about that (a la Paul Kimmage) than hear somebody talk about how great it is to scoot up the pretty mountains.

michaelm

Ghost Rider wrote: »

You think? In the ones I read, he came across as a bit whingey.

The "whinging" is what convinces me he has got decent potential. Roche is unlike some Irish competitors who are just happy to be at a major sporting event. He believes he can achieve something and is disappointed with himself when he doesn't.

irishmotorist

I really love the column and just go straight to it in the paper. I'm enjoying some of the techie bits he mentions - such as todays where he mentions regretting using a 44 inner ring in the TT and the other day when he realised half way down a descent on a spare bike that he was on clinchers rather than tubs and unfavoured brakes.

I think it's coming across as very honest, it's clear to see how he's enjoying being there and exactly what he's finding tough. I love the bit about how his dad came across to do a trial run of the TT course with him. It's funny to hear of Stephen Roche in that context.

ROK ON

Thanks for all the replies folks.
Hope he makes it, in that he seems to have some of the basic ingredients.

I like the way he seems to be on the look out for breaks, r that he expect something of himself everyday. Good attitude. Not sure that he thinks highly of the team however. Maybe he would progress further on a stronger, more competitive team.

finbarrk

Ghost Rider wrote: »

You think? In the ones I read, he came across as a bit whingey.

Couldn't agree with you there. He is just telling the truth regarding how the day went. I know a few people who are even buying the Indo specially to read his column.

JacksonHeightsOwn

finbarrk wrote: »

Couldn't agree with you there. He is just telling the truth regarding how the day went. I know a few people who are even buying the Indo specially to read his column.

yep, me, i never buy papers, just bad news and bull**** as far as im concerned

sleapy235

Whatever about his potential for the future, its been fantastic watching him the last couple of weeks. Great that he's been wearing the Irish champions jersey too m aking him easy to spot. Apart from the main GC contenders, Cavendish and Hushovd, wouldn't say there has been many riders who have gotten more TV time than Roche considering the amount of breakaways he was in, the time he spent working at the front defending yellow and the amount of sprints he has contested. He's an exciting all action rider to watch, and his column in the Indo is excellent.
Regarding the future, I'm not sure. He may never have another Tour as good, so lets enjoy the present. Don't think he could be a Grand Tour winner, I'd say he'd be better going the Classics/Stage wins route, cos I doubt if he wants to be another Tadej Valjavec (solid, consistent but unexciting Grand Tour top 10/15 rider).

Berbatov

Raam wrote: »

I think he's just telling it like it is and being honest about how difficult it is.

TBH as a complete new comer to the sport and now an avid watcher I think it's been a great insight as to what goes on behind the scenes. For example the other day when he and another member of the team where in the leading group and Roche managed to finish fourth (which I thought was great) he said that straight after the race the team director, manager, or whatever, gave them loads for not finishing higher!!

Just goes to show what's expected!!

thirstywork

Wouldn't know much about cycling but been glued into the tour e france this year.reading his column in the newspaper young Roche oesn't lack confidence.
I think its great for Ireland to have someone in there who can compete and compete well.It will be good foe the sport and help youngsters to aspire to someone from their current generation.
plus it must be hard for him with his Dad being such a legend.
I agree with one of the posters above 2-3 years and a bigger team.
The story of him getting abuse for not helping the break away when his team mate holding the yellow jersey was funny.
He grabbed the Itilian by the throat and told him to say it to his face
which shows he won't take any crap.

Esroh

Berbatov wrote: »

TBH as a complete new comer to the sport and now an avid watcher I think it's been a great insight as to what goes on behind the scenes. For example the other day when he and another member of the team where in the leading group and Roche managed to finish fourth (which I thought was great) he said that straight after the race the team director, manager, or whatever, gave them loads for not finishing higher!!

Just goes to show what's expected!!

DS must read the Indo as on Cyclingnews he is saying was a good ride but for the mechanical problems at the end.:D

yerayeah

He's placed in the top ten in a lot of stages for a tour debutant imo, pity he didn't win one though. Will be interesting watching his progress over the next few years!

zzzzzzzz

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/roche-harbors-ambitions-for-green

Diarmuid

Seeing as a I missed the articles I went through the Indo and got a few linked here. I went back until I got bored

• Time Trial
• 4 x Cat 1 climbs
• July 21st
• Stage 15 Jul 20
• Stage 13
• July 16
• Stage 10

michaelm

A little off topic I know but this is exactly how Paul Kimmage's career as a journalist started where he wrote a weekly column for the Sunday Tribune. It would be lovely if he continued to do regular pieces on life in the pro tour.

Captain Havoc

You're only as good as your last race and 23rd in the Tour de France isn't half bad eh! He's also 5th for the green jersey and 5th for best young rider. Chapeau

uberwolf

astarloza test positive

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/8183836.stm

does Roche get a bump in UCI points if Astarloza loses his placings? or is that the way it works?

(In Brief - Astar won the stage Roche came 4th in, and was ahead of Roche in the GC)

Chips Lovell

Short answer is that we don't know yet. Astarloza tested positive in June, before the Tour started. The UCI said his results since then are under review. I guess they have to decide whether what he tested positive for would affect his performance a month later